To say that the marketing materials for “Aquaman” has yet to impress me is an understatement. Unlike the legion of fans that seem to think this is going to be the turning point for the DCEU, the pictures, trailers, and interviews leading up to the film’s December release date all point to a film that looks like a run-of-the-mill superhero outing. Sure, the tone seems lighter than the dreadfully dark “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but so far, “Aquaman” just ain’t doing it for me.
That leads me to talk about the latest batch of character posters for the film. Similar to how Marvel Studios released roughly 400 posters for “Avengers: Infinity War,” Warner Bros. has gone ahead and released seven new posters, focusing on each primary member of the cast. And these are a perfect encapsulation of why the marketing for “Aquaman” has left me a bit cold.
First, and foremost, you have a new poster for the titular character, played by Jason “My Man!” Momoa. Sporting the comic book-inspired costume seen at the end of the last trailer, this is perhaps the best, most intriguing look at Aquaman. Sadly, judging from the footage, it appears we probably won’t see this version of the character until the third act, at least. Before then, he has to do the whole surface world stuff and make his terrible jokes about redheads and peeing on things.
Not to be dismissive, but Amber Heard’s Mera looks…well, like Mera. The hair is still a cartoonish color, but otherwise, she’s just fine. The same can be said about Nicole Kidman. She clearly won’t be in the film for long, as all her footage seen so far takes place in flashback. But yeah, she looks like Nicole Kidman.
Now, let’s take a moment to talk about King Orm, played by Patrick Wilson. The character looks decent enough for a bad guy. His pose and facial expression scream villain, but hey, it’s a comic book film and that’s just par for the course. However, the poster doesn’t do much for the character other than reaffirm the thought that he’s probably going to be a bargain-basement Loki.
The other three posters border on the “just plain silly” side of the superhero costume spectrum. You have what appears to be a photoshopped-to-hell picture of Willem Dafoe as Vulko. Either WB has a time machine and brought back a spry 35-year-old Dafoe, or the marketing folks had a field day with this poster. Adding to the “hey, look it’s _____!” aspect of the film is the poster for Dolph Lundgren’s King Nereus. Considering Atlantis can’t have two Kings, we’re guessing his time in the film is short, similar to Kidman. But boy, Lungren is something else, riding the meanest seahorse I’ve ever seen.
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And finally, Black Manta. Where to begin? Sometimes what works on the comic book page just doesn’t translate to live action. And sadly, that’s the space that Black Manta operates. While the costume is unique and iconic in the DC Universe, it just looks ridiculous in live-action. One of the worst things you can say about a live-action comic book film is that it gives you mid-‘90s “Power Rangers” vibes. But yet, more so than Apocalypse from the last “X-Men” film, this “Aquaman” villain just screams “Power Rangers.”
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So there you have it. These posters are your typical superhero character images. However, they just further show why this film just doesn’t do it for me. As a fan of the comic books, and superhero films in general, I’m the sure-thing ticket buyer. But as of now, I’m going to wait until April’s “Shazam!” before I get excited about a DC film.
“Aquaman” hits theaters on December 21.
